These data were generated in support of the manuscript: Adam TC, Holbrook SJ, Burkepile DE, Speare KE, Brooks AJ, Ladd MC, Shantz AA, Thurber RLV, and Schmitt RJ, Ecology The outcomes of species interactions can vary greatly in time and space with the outcomes of some interactions determined by priority effects. On coral reefs, benthic algae rapidly colonize the disturbed substrate. In the absence of top-down control from herbivorous fishes, these algae can inhibit the recruitment of reef-building corals, leading to a persistent phase shift to a macroalgae-dominated state. Yet, corals may also inhibit colonization by macroalgae, and thus the effects of herbivores on algal communities may be strongest following disturbances that reduce coral cover. Here, we report results from experiments conducted on the fore reef of Moorea, French Polynesia, where we: 1) tested the ability of macroalgae to invade coral-dominated and coral-depauperate communities under different levels of herbivory, 2) explored the ability of juvenile corals (Pocillopora spp.) to suppress macroalgae, and 3) quantified the direct and indirect effects of fish herbivores and corallivores on juvenile corals. We found that macroalgae proliferated when herbivory was low but only in recently disturbed communities where coral cover was also low. When coral cover was < 10%, macroalgae increased 20-fold within one year under reduced herbivory conditions relative to high herbivory controls. Yet, when coral cover was high (50%), macroalgae were suppressed irrespective of the level of herbivory despite ample space for algal colonization. Once established in communities with low herbivory and low coral cover, macroalgae suppressed recruitment of coral larvae, reducing the capacity for coral replenishment. However, when we experimentally established small juvenile corals (2 cm diameter) following a disturbance, juvenile corals inhibited macroalgae from invading local neighborhoods, even in the absence of herbivores, indicating a strong priority effect in macroalgae coral interactions. Surprisingly, fishes that initially facilitated coral recruitment by controlling algae had a net negative effect on juvenile corals via predation. Corallivores reduced growth rates of corals exposed to fishes by ~ 30% relative to fish exclosures despite increased competition with macroalgae within the exclosures. These results highlight that different processes are important for structuring coral reef ecosystems at different successional stages and underscore the need to consider multiple ecological processes and historical contingencies to predict coral community dynamics. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grants No. OCE 16-37396 (and earlier awards), OCE-2023424, and OCE-2023701 as well as a generous gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Research was completed under permits issued by the French Polynesian Government (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d'Accueil 2005-2025). This work represents a contribution of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER Site.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a mixture of organic materials that are dissolved in water. DOM represents a significant fraction of carbon and nutrient stocks in seawater. To quantify the distribution and dynamics of organic matter in nearshore marine environments, fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM; a subset of DOM that fluoresces under ultraviolet light) was quantified from water column samples collected in lagoons around Moorea, French Polynesia during May 2021, April 2022, and April 2023. fDOM components, such as humic-like compounds, as well as fDOM indices, such as the humification index, were measured using fluorometry (for more details refer to methods). Humification Index was higher in bays and fringing reef habitats, whereas Fluorescence Index and M:C ratio were higher further offshore at back reef sites.

Nutrients are important for ecosystem structure and community dynamics. To quantify time-integrated patterns of nutrient regimes in tropical lagoon ecosystems, concentrations of nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon were measured from tissues of the macroalga Turbinaria ornata collected in lagoons around Moorea, French Polynesia in 2016, 2017, and annually starting in 2019. These sampling periods initially corresponded with distinct seasonal shifts in rainfall and wave forcing and later focused on the rainy season. Results showed that N enrichment was highest nearshore in fringing reef habitats, as well as in bays and at reef passes.

Samples of two common macroalgal species (Sargassum mangarevense, Turbinaria ornata) are collected yearly from fringing, backreef, and reef crest sites at each of the sites (LTER 1 through LTER 6) around Moorea. CHN analyses of dried, ground samples of each individual are made using standard methods. CHN data are used to track sustained variation in nutrient availability. Water column nutrients in coral reef systems usually are low to undetectable and their inputs tend to be episodic and ephemeral. Using CHN contents of macroalgae allows the integration of nitrogen availability over a longer time period, in this case, over approximately 3 months.

A continuous time series of benthic water temperature is measured with bottom-mounted thermistors at six sites around the shores of Moorea, on the fringing reef, backreef, and forereef. The forereef temperature is recorded with SBE 39s or SBE 56s at 10, 20, 30 and 40 m, starting between 2005 to 2007, except FOR00 starting in 2010. These are ongoing except the 40 m deployments were discontinued after August 2019. The backreef SBE 39s/56s are mounted on plates at 1 m depth at LTER 1 and at 2 m depth at the other five sites. Onset HOBOs are deployed on the fringing reef at one shallow 1 m depth and one deeper depth varying by site as follows: 6 m at LTER 1, 4 m at LTER 2, 7 m at LTER 3, 6 m at LTER 4, 3 m at LTER 5 and 4 m at LTER 6. The mounting plate is fixed to the reef and depths do not vary through time. These depths are not measured by the thermistors and should be considered categorical. Throughout the timeseries, temperature measurements have been taken every 2 minutes by SBE 39s and SBE 56s, and every 8 minutes by the Onset HOBOs. Prior to July 2021 temperature data were subjected to a low-pass filter to remove noise and temperature was resampled to a 20 minute time step. Beginning in July 2021 data are raw temperature values sampled every two minutes (SBE 39s and SBE 56s) or eight minutes (Onset HOBOs) depending on the instrument. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE 22-24354 (and earlier awards) as well as a generous gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Research was completed under permits issued by the French Polynesian Government (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d'Accueil 2005-2023). This work represents a contribution of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER Site.

This time series describes light (PAR, 400-700 nm) recorded in the air, on the surface, and at depth (17.1 m depth) at the LTER2 fore reef site. Surface data originate from twin cosine collectors (Hobo/Onset brand, model S-LIA-M003) attached to USB micro weather stations (Hobo/Onset brand, model H21-USB). Sensors are attached to the roof of the waterfront building at the UCB Gump station (-17.490598, -149.826208) with the sensors ~ 6 m above sea level. In situ light is recorded with a single PME miniPAR logger fitted with a Li-COR LI-192 cosine correct PAR sensor attached to a PME miniWiper. The sensor is mounted underwater with the top of the sensor at 17.1 m depth. The objective is to measure K dPAR, the diffuse attenuation coefficient for PAR wavelengths, over long periods. The technique relies on the assumption that ~96% of surface PAR is transmitted through the air-sea interface when sun altitudes are > 46° and wind speeds are < 5 m s-1 (Gregg and Carder 1990). Departures from this assumption degrade the estimation of subsurface PAR from surface PAR, which is required to calculate K dPAR.

This dataset includes counts and sizes of fish within Moorea’s lagoons, with more than 130,000 fish recorded between 2018 and 2021. In summer of each year observers swim through Moorea’s lagoons, observing a 5-m wide swath and recording species and sizes of fish encountered in every minute of swim (about 10 linear meters of sampling). The fish counts are limited to a fixed species list (57 taxa) which was chosen to capture most of the reef associated species targeted in Moorea’s fishery, as well as important herbivores. Only fish larger than 10 cm were recorded, a size chosen to match the small end of fish observed in the catch. The resulting counts were georeferenced based on simultaneously collecting GPS data. Data are presented here on the scale of a minute of sampling. This scale coincides with benthic data which was simultaneously collected but is presented in a different data set (EDI data package: knb-lter-mcr.4014.1) doi:10.6073/pasta/f1e4cbcd79ebbbb0b0cbb79ab2ff8901 These data were collected as part of CNH-L: Multiscale Dynamics of Coral Reef Fisheries: Feedbacks Between Fishing Practices, Livelihood Strategies, and Shifting Dominance of Coral and Algae (BCS-1714704) with additional support from the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (OCE- 1637396).

This dataset includes cover of benthic organisms and substrates in more than 600,000 photographic samples of Moorea’s lagoon habitats, collected between 2018 and 2021. In summer of each year swimmers towed downward facing cameras, taking 1.5 photos per second of habitats they passed over. The resulting pictures were processed through a computer vision algorithm (CoralNet), resulting in percent cover estimates in each photo of organisms such as coral and algae and substrates such as sand and rubble. These data were georeferenced based on simultaneously collecting GPS data. Data are presented here on the scale of the photograph, and are also aggregated to the scale of a minute of sampling and a transect of swimming. The latter scales are chosen to coincide with fish counting data which was simultaneously collected but is presented in a different data set (EDI data package ID: knb-lter-mcr.4013.1) doi:10.6073/pasta/ff3de88334edda65fef26de45ff26c1d These data were collected as part of CNH-L: Multiscale Dynamics of Coral Reef Fisheries: Feedbacks Between Fishing Practices, Livelihood Strategies, and Shifting Dominance of Coral and Algae (BCS-1714704) with additional support from the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (OCE- 1637396).

A continuous time series of benthic water temperature is measured with bottom-mounted thermistors at six sites around the shores of Moorea, on the fringing reef, backreef, and forereef. The forereef temperature is recorded with SBE 39s or SBE 56s at 10, 20, 30 and 40 m, starting between 2005 to 2007, except FOR00 starting in 2010. These are ongoing except the 40 m deployments were discontinued after August 2019. The backreef SBE 39s/56s are mounted on plates at 1 m depth at LTER 1 and at 2 m depth at the other five sites. Onset HOBOs are deployed on the fringing reef at one shallow 1 m depth and one deeper depth varying by site as follows: 6 m at LTER 1, 4 m at LTER 2, 7 m at LTER 3, 6 m at LTER 4, 3 m at LTER 5 and 4 m at LTER 6. The mounting plate is fixed to the reef and depths do not vary through time. These depths are not measured by the thermistors and should be considered categorical. Throughout the timeseries, temperature measurements have been taken every 2 minutes by SBE 39s and SBE 56s, and every 8 minutes by the Onset HOBOs. Prior to July 2021 temperature data were subjected to a low-pass filter to remove noise and temperature was resampled to a 20 minute time step. Beginning in July 2021 data are raw temperature values sampled every two minutes (SBE 39s and SBE 56s) or eight minutes (Onset HOBOs) depending on the instrument. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE 22-24354 (and earlier awards) as well as a generous gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Research was completed under permits issued by the French Polynesian Government (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d'Accueil 2005-2023). This work represents a contribution of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER Site.

This time series describes light (PAR, 400-700 nm) recorded in the air, on the surface, and at depth (17.1 m depth) at the LTER2 fore reef site. Surface data originate from twin cosine collectors (Hobo/Onset brand, model S-LIA-M003) attached to USB micro weather stations (Hobo/Onset brand, model H21-USB). Sensors are attached to the roof of the waterfront building at the UCB Gump station (-17.490598, -149.826208) with the sensors ~ 6 m above sea level. In situ light is recorded with a single PME miniPAR logger fitted with a Li-COR LI-192 cosine correct PAR sensor attached to a PME miniWiper. The sensor is mounted underwater with the top of the sensor at 17.1 m depth. The objective is to measure K dPAR, the diffuse attenuation coefficient for PAR wavelengths, over long periods. The technique relies on the assumption that ~96% of surface PAR is transmitted through the air-sea interface when sun altitudes are > 46° and wind speeds are < 5 m s-1 (Gregg and Carder 1990). Departures from this assumption degrade the estimation of subsurface PAR from surface PAR, which is required to calculate K dPAR. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE 22-24354 (and earlier awards) as well as a generous gift from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Research was completed under permits issued by the French Polynesian Government (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d'Accueil 2005-2024). This work represents a contribution of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER Site.